How To Shuffle | Reid Duke

New to paper Magic or just a bit rusty? Magic pro Reid Duke has got your back on how to shuffle just in time for the upcoming MTG Vegas!

[MrPeteJahn]

Speaking as someone who has judged nearly as many Worlds and Pro Tours as Reid has attended, I'll just say "do what he said." Reid got this one exactly right.

[mysticalpotato]

Reid is such a great person to teach this kind of stuff. He's basically what everyone should aspire to be when it comes to being a good opponent. Love it

[chemset]

I love learning from Reid. His approach to magic etiquette is what I try to emulate, god knows if everyone did magic would be a much more pleasant game. Thanks Reid great vid and discussion!

[nbs]

This is really important for magic players to understand those things. I once went to a prerelease and as my opponent shuffled my deck before game 1 and he suddenly commented about one of the cards I had in my deck (he looked at the deck while shuffling).

[itchyarchibald]

Most importantly, stare deeply into your opponent's eyes the whole time you shuffle. It will intimidate them, giving you a distinct gameplay advantage.

[TheCanadan]

What an insanely plain and simple video.... AND the most useful video that I have seen in a long time!

[lvlcpu]

I'd love some tips and tricks for organized play. Lots of people rarely go to events, especially after the pandemic, so refreshers are always nice. Also for all the new people who learned on Arena.

[jessoftherocks]

Also when you shuffle your opponents deck, make sure to keep the cards facing the same direction.

[MachineKing]

Some players get angry when you pile shuffle before the hand shuffle because they claim it is too time consuming. I also enjoy pile shuffling once, a judge may give you a slow play warning if you try it a 2nd time in the same game. When I am doing the overhand shuffle after the pile shuffle, I look at the floor away from the top of my deck to show my opponent I am not looking at the bottom card of my deck. Good video to help newer players!

[MagicMetalMoney]

I now know I can watch Reid discuss how paint dries and still be entertained!

But really, great information 🙂

[anaphysik]

Doing more than one pile 'shuffle' is not only a waste of time, but against Magic Tournament Rules. You are currently allowed only a single one, before the game begins (to enable players to double-check number of cards in deck, as Reid suggests, which is always a good thing to do regardless of how you go about it). The (randomizing) shuffle that Reid is doing here is better referred to as a 'mash shuffle', not an 'overhand shuffle' -- although as Reid says, hold the deck halves loosely, don't "mash" them despite the name, as holding too tight can do a lot of damage/warping to your sleeves.

Mash shuffling is mechanically equivalent to riffle shuffling and is the best method when playing with sleeves (as riffle shuffling a lot can warp the cards themselves, although Magic cards are more resistant to this than cards from other games). When unsleeved (gasp! but it happens), riffle shuffling is better because it avoids damaging the card edges (although riffling with the axis going horizontally across the card is better, something that's also not really doable with sleeves).

The actual 'overhand shuffle' is an insufficient method of randomization that involves moving chunks of cards from the bottom of the deck to the top of the deck -- a method that most people will be familiar with from magic tricks or from casual card gaming, but which doesn't actually do proper randomization (and as in magic tricks, can be abused).

[yeahcomeon]

This is the proof that Reid could make cuisine content and I would still watch it.

[dojirob]

I wish Reid was my opp staring into my eyes. I feel like I would try my best to play but my soul would have already conceded.

[jasperdare]

This was so wholesome and just solidifies you as my favorite player/content creator.

[selkokieli]

I would like to ad that the time shuffled isn't the same as how thorough the shuffled is.
There's a certain number of overhand/rifle shuffles that should be sufficient, based on a mathematical proof. If I'm not mistaken, 7x times for 52 card decks, 10 times for 100 card decks should be about enough, 8 should be close for regular magic decks of 60 cards. Ad an extra shuffle or two or a differnt method to make sure.

Especially helpful info for neurotic shufflers like me who tend to shuffle extra long because I feel like I can't be sure if it's shuffled properly

[luzzy]

Something so simple but a video like this is important and informative 👍

[Kayametra]

I believe they added a rule saying that you could only pile shuffle once per game, either due to it being too time-consuming or it leading to decks getting stacked.

[semigloss]

I dig how Reid keeps eye contact with the camera (opponent) to model good shuffling etiquette.

[Kadus]

Thanks so much for this Reid! This is an invaluable guide as we get back to in-person magic. The less time we have to worry about messing up something like this and the more time we have to concentrate on our plays and enjoy the game, the better :)

[JohnGusdoinit]

Suggestion for video in a similar vein - how priority/phases are passed in person. I've played a lot online, but only a handful of times in person and am frankly unsure about what you say to pass phases/priority. Like, when they say go you can say "on your end step . . ." but what about on other phase passes? Do you say "before declaring attackers" or is it appropriate for the person whose turn it is to say something about priority being passed at the end of begin combat phase to give the opportunity to make a play before the game moves to declare attackers? Just outlining the etiquette/procedure appropriate for a tournament setting would be helpful. Thank you!